Think of the Ethereum network as an operating system on the internet that can run programs. It’s like a bank statement, but for crypto - and it’s always up-to-date.Įach “block” in the “chain” contains transactions and data, and just like real chains, they’re linked. Blockchains are like a tally sheet that tracks who has what, where it came from, and where it went.

Smart contracts are computer programs that run on the Ethereum network.Hold up, what? Okay, let’s break that down. Big names like Amazon and Sony are getting into the NFT action using the Ethereum blockchain and Layer 2 networks.Įthereum is the leading smart-contract blockchain. Markets are beginning to see that NFTs can document ownership of anything. Growing use cases for NFTs include NFT music, NFT art, real estate, game skins, and more. NFTs are more than just fun pictures these days.And now, Coinbase is launching a Layer 2 called Base. Transactions on Layer 2’s are processed faster and cheaper than on Mainnet but passed to Mainnet for security. Abitrum, an Ethereum Layer 2 network, recently surpassed Ethereum Mainnet in daily transactions. A reduction in the number of network transactions could change this trend, however. The recent change in the way Ethereum validates transactions (The Merge) is deflationary so far.

Word stacks daily march 22 2022